Joan Yuan-Chung Lang
USC Rossier School of Education
How did Joan Yuan-Chung Lang wrangle up 122 USC students to help her write her doctoral dissertation? She promised them $15 and 90 minutes of uninterrupted video-game playing.
Lang, who graduated with her Ph.D. in psychology and technology from the USC Rossier School of Education in 2007, was testing the potential of video games as educational tools. Through her research, guided by Harold O’Neil, she now believes that video and computer games have the potential to help students learn and develop problem-solving skills. The games are also motivational tools, helping pique students’ interest in subjects where they previously may have had little or no interest, while also increasing confidence in their own learning abilities.
Lang put her theories to the test at a private high school in Los Angeles, where she teaches Mandarin and Chinese culture. Through the use of video games and other instructional media, Lang encouraged her students to immerse themselves in the material and enjoy the learning process. She watched students who were initially disinterested in her class slowly become more involved in the daily lessons.
“It was very different from a traditional language course,” she said. “By inviting students to participate, the learning experience became more active. They wanted to be a part of it.” For her efforts, she was presented with the school’s Most Dedicated Teacher award in spring 2009.
Lang has always had a foot in the media pool. For seven years prior to pursuing her graduate work, her face appeared on television screens across Taipei, where she worked as a news anchor and reporter. “It was a very colorful life,” she says of her time spent jet-setting across Asia.
These days, Lang, who works as a researcher at USC Rossier, still has plenty of opportunities to travel – but now it’s to present her research findings and teach others about the power of instructional media. And if you ever spy her playing a computer game in her office, don’t fret – it’s all in the name of research.